Living His Dream
Warren Wandell is living his dream working in London. Wandell is a US Business Tax Analyst for Deloitte UK, an accomplishment he credits to Gonzaga’s Accelerated Master of Science in Taxation (MS. Tax) program.
“I saw the tax program as a way to enhance my career prospects. Many of the large professional services firms, like Deloitte, pay a premium for candidates with graduate degrees. Having a master's degree also helps you get set up for more specialized roles,” said Wandell.
Wandell applied to the MS. Tax accelerated program while an undergrad at Gonzaga, allowing him to start his master’s coursework during his senior year. He was excited to begin a more in-depth study of tax accounting and found the graduate work helped him discover what he wanted to achieve during his career.
“The program is really, really comprehensive in all aspects of the world of tax. You learn a bit of everything. You go to corporate tax, partnership, income taxes, property, wealth transfer, state and local, tax research, ethics, a lot of other things.”
Wandell continued, “The International tax class is one of the reasons why I'm doing this right now in London. I enjoyed that class so much. Professor Brajcich made it fun and enjoyable, yet hard and frustrating at the same time. He approached it in a way that I had never seen before.”
Wandell chose Gonzaga for his graduate work because he felt the faculty was truly invested in his success.
“You really get that consistent face to face interaction with professors both inside and outside of the classroom. It was that close proximity to everything that really drew me in.”
Wandell continued, “The professors fight for you when you tell them that you want to do something. I saw the email that goes out every year about the Deloitte UK internship and I asked my professor about a year before the application was even open if he could start connecting me to people. I think he connected me to four Gonzaga people in the office and set up informational interviews for me.”
Those connections with Gonzaga’s global alumni network helped Wandell get his foot in the door at Deloitte UK, and now living in London Wandell has found an even bigger community of Zags.
“Gonzaga's size really lends itself well to making lifelong connections and friendships with students. I have so many people that I have deep friendships with because the school is so tight knit and small. Even all the way across the pond in London, there's a thriving community of us.”
Wandell continues, “The MS.Tax program is a great place to learn tax. But, more importantly in my eyes, it’s a place to build lifelong connections and relationships. No matter where life takes you, there will be someone from the Gonzaga network to connect with.”
Applications are open for the Spring 2024 start date of Gonzaga's Master of Science in Taxation. Apply by December 11th here.